Witchvox Article

Author: Kyriea
Posted: September 21st. 2001
Times Viewed: 3,391

Mundanes. What is mundane? Something that is ordinary or worse yet, boring. Unenlightened. Simplistic. Closed-minded. Non-magickal. And many other things as well.

Living in a "mundane" world is not too bad. After all, there are more "mundane" (non-magickal) people out there than not. And we do need to live in the real world also once in awhile (like working, paying taxes, grocery shopping, etc).But for me the most intolerable of the mundane is the unenlightened. And that knows no bounds. There are unenlightened Pagans also.

Most people think of non-Pagan people or non-magickal people as mundane, or non-Pagan/non-magickal things or actions. I think mundane is more of an attitude then anything else. The attitude that states "I am not responsible for my life. Others do things to control it and others should do things to fix it".

The types of people of which I speak are the people who don't walk the talk. They spout how they live a Pagan life yet they do destructive things to themselves and others, including the planet. They blame outside forces, be they people, or Murphy, or the fates, or whatever for all that ails them. They constantly need approval for their lives. They take no responsibility for what happens to themselves. It's always someone else's fault for the problems they experience and always someone else's responsibility to fix it. These are the mundane things that I really notice and that really makes it hard to live in a "mundane" world.

And there are a lot of people like this out there!!!!

I have talked to people who feel that the government should give more money to them for whatever they need but don't want the government to regulate their lives. I have met people who say they are environmentally aware and active but watched as they flicked a cigarette out the window saying it's not a big piece of trash so it will not make a much of a difference. I have seen people who berate others for living an open, honest alternative life style and yet cheat on his/her spouse with the thought that "since I haven't been caught it doesn't hurt anyone" or worse yet "everyone does it". And most of these people go to church or say they practice a Pagan path and then when things get difficult blame the powers above for all that has gone wrong in their lives. Or worse, spend most of the week doing harmful things and then once a week, once a month, every holiday, ask "God" for forgiveness and expect that all is ok. They think that just because they did their "time" in church or did one or two good deeds that they wiped the proverbial slate clean and they can again do whatever they want without thought of who or what they hurt.

A good example of this mundane attitude of unenlightenment is the following: A person I know is currently taking Prozac for clinical depression. When in therapy it came out that this person thought he was abused by his parents. Did they hit him? No. Did they sexually abuse him? No. Did they neglect him or ignore him? No. Was there mental abuse and/or emotional abuse? No. And all these "no's" he will readily admit to. What abuse then did his parents inflict on him? They didn't go to his sports games in high school because they both worked 2 jobs to help make the bills. They didn't continue to pay his college tuition after he spent the first year getting drunk and failing his classes. They didn't stop him from marrying his first wife and making what he called a big mistake. And they didn't fix everything when it went wrong. "after all, " he would say, "isn't that a parent's job?"

This person does not see that what happened in his life was not abuse, it was the way his parents knew to take care of him so he wasn't living on the street as a child, and that he had food and clothing because they worked all the time to provide it for him and his sisters. He doesn't understand that money does not grow on trees and that it was rather rude of him to waste their money on a whole year of college when all he wanted to do was party. He doesn't understand that it was not his parent's place to stop him from marrying his first wife. He would have been mad at the intrusion also, so in that case they couldn't win. He doesn't see that he is now 36 years old and in charge of his own life and can make changes that will improve his life for him. Not for anyone else. Is he depressed? Yeah, he is. Does he need therapy? Definitely. But the therapy and drugs will not help him unless he realizes that HE is responsible for his own happiness, not his parents, his therapist, the drugs, or anyone or anything else. He alone can control his life and either improve it or make it worse. No one else can FIX it for him. But he still refuses to see that he has that power and everyone else is still to blame for the bad things in his life (which seems at times to him to be his whole life).

This is typical of what I see. He is Christian. But a Pagan friend I know called me a few months ago saying that her boyfriend didn't call her when he said he was and she wants to know how to handle it. "How can I know he means it when he says he loves me when he doesn't even keep his promise to call when he said he would?" was her question. She didn't mention that at the time that he was suppose to call he was in the middle of a big mess he didn't expect at work and couldn't get to the phone. That scenario, plus a few more like it, was part of the reason they are no longer together. She depended on him to make her happy and to be perfect for her. He, obviously, could not fulfill that kind of expectation. No one could. Yet she would spout how she is in control of her life and didn't need anyone else to make her happy. She was Pagan, and it gave her all she needed in this life. After breaking up with this person she then decided that Paganism wasn't working for her since it could not bring her happiness. She converted to Christianity. Normally I wouldn't mind or care. To each his/her own, but to blame this ex-boyfriend and Paganism for not making her happy didn't sit well with me.

These are a few of the things I find in this life that are "mundane". I can say that I am not perfect. I make mistakes. But I try to take responsibility for my own actions. I try to walk the talk. Do I fall down? Sure I do. But I don't blame anyone else for me falling on my face. I don't ask for someone else to take responsibility for my happiness. I share the good and the bad with my loved one's. I am there for them as they are there for me. But I would never ask or expect them to fix my life or make it better. That is my job.

I realize this is probably not what was expected when the topic of "mundaneness" came up but when I think of "mundane" this is what comes to mind. I know that there will always be people like this no matter the era. It is one of the lessons I know I have to learn this time around. Patience J. And understanding of those who might not be as enlightened as others. I would never say I was the most enlightened of the current living (actually I would list myself as pretty low on the enlightened, non-mundane totem pole) but at least I have the awareness to try. And trying is all we can do. If we never try we will never accomplish.

Blessings, love and peace

Kyriea

ABOUT...

Kyriea

Location: Ramsey, Minnesota

Author's Profile: To learn more about Kyriea - Click HERE

Bio: Kyriea is a solitary witch who follows a Celtic path. She has been actively living and practicing her Pagan religious path since 1998 but has had many years of off and on again interest and study. Other interests include: sewing renaissance costumes for friends and family, writing and publishing poetry related and unrelated to the craft, writing essays for the Witches Voice, spending time with her daughter, boyfriend, family and friends, and playing with her 2 cats, Bonnie and Clyde.

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